


Keeping an Even Keel

by Reioka



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Developing Relationship, F/M, Feels, Fight Club AU, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-05
Updated: 2020-01-05
Packaged: 2021-02-19 02:37:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 552
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22137178
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Reioka/pseuds/Reioka
Summary: Carol's going back to Louisiana, but she's getting the feeling that Jim doesn't really mind the wait.
Relationships: Carol Danvers/James "Rhodey" Rhodes
Comments: 6
Kudos: 52





	Keeping an Even Keel

**Author's Note:**

> This is a continuation of my Rhodey/Carol Fight Club AU in my AU August fic which can be found [here](https://archiveofourown.org/works/20075317/chapters/51690724)!
> 
> For @dixiehellcat over on Tumblr!
> 
> For brevity's sake: This is a few days after Steve and Tony's wedding, and Rhodey and Carol are meeting up to talk about how their relationship will go before she leaves. Maria and Monica are out being proper tourists (but worry not because Carol immediately spills what happened as soon as they all get back to the hotel room).

Keeping an Even Keel

Carol was going back to Louisiana. She had a job there that she was finding she liked, and family she’d discovered she’d missed terribly, and therapy that she admitted she needed to see through. She liked Jim a lot, but she wasn’t going to jeopardize her success to be with him.

“That’s so sexy,” Jim told her with a straight face.

“Shut up!” she replied, laughing. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so much. She liked it.

Jim smiled a little, then reached out to put his hand on top of hers. “I mean it. You look better—lighter, somehow. I’m really glad to see that you’re seeking help, that you’re accepting it. You were pretty… wild, last time we saw each other here.”

“Pretty stupid, you mean,” Carol murmured, staring down at their hands instead of meeting his eyes.

“Hey,” Jim said sternly, making her peek up at him. “It was obvious you were angry and hurting and didn’t know how to cope with it. I’m not gonna judge you for that. I’m just glad you finally got help. You know that, right?”

“I think it might take me a while to believe it,” Carol admitted.

Jim smiled at her. “That’s okay. I’ll wait.”

“I just don’t want you to feel like I’m wasting your time,” Carol said softly.

Jim reached out to take her other hand. “It’s not wasting my time. I _want_ to wait for you. And honestly, Carol? The person you’re becoming now that you’re tackling your problems? _Is_ pretty sexy. I’m not saying that as a joke. The weight that you’ve taken off your shoulders has made you look like an entirely different person. A happier one.”

Carol stared up at him, reluctant to believe him. But then, Jim wasn’t the sort to lie. Not about this. He’d been solidly in the ‘get some fucking help’ camp from the start. “I was worried you wouldn’t like me without the swollen bottom lip,” she said, instead of something even vaguely thankful like she should have.

“Carol, I’m still traumatized by the time your cut lip reopened on my dick and you accidentally bit me and we couldn’t figure out if it was your blood or mine,” Jim deadpanned.

Carol let out a bark of laughter, because yeah, that had been a scary couple minutes. “Sorry.”

Jim smiled at her. “It’ll be a funny story to tell… well, no one, hopefully.”

“I already told Maria,” Carol admitted.

“That’s fine because I already told Tony,” Jim replied.

“God, we’re gonna be in trouble if those two ever decide to work together,” Carol mused, smiling.

Jim blinked at her. “You know he already offered to pay for Monica’s college, right?”

“WHAT,” Carol barked, mortified, then frowned thoughtfully. “Oh yeah. He’s definitely gonna have children before you.”

Jim looked pained at the prospect, especially because his mother would definitely begin breathing down his neck about it. “I know. I’m thinking I’ll just move down to Louisiana with you to avoid her.”

“You think that’ll work?” Carol asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, but she’d have to travel farther to yell at me,” Jim admitted.

Carol laughed again. She hoped they’d continue to laugh together, once she got her head on right. Jim made her think they would.

**Author's Note:**

> God I love this AU more than originally planned.


End file.
